Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-10-22
CARDINAL GIBBONS.
Description and History of the
Curdinalnte.

on Wednesday next, and his visit is O.
more than ordinary interest for the
reason that Cardinals are the highest
dignitaries in the Roman Catholic
Church after the Pope, whose electors
and councillors they are. The San
Francisco Examiner, in speaking Of
the Cardinalate, says:
The Pope, being the Sovereign Bish.
op, presiding over the entire Catholic
Church, and having as such many
duties to fulfill inconsistant with those
of particular diocese had, from very
early times, a number of bishops,
priests and deacons whom he ap-
pointed his Wears and coadjutOrs for
the management of the diocese of Rome.
The bishops exercised the epis-
copal function in the Pope's
stead, each having particular
church within the diocese.
The priests were the titular pastors OF
the churches in the City of Rome,
and had the cure of souls. The dea-
cons had charge of some churches and
chapels of devotion, which they held
as deaconries, with the additional duty
of assisting the Pope when he offici-
ated in public. These three classes Of
ecclesiastics were called Cardinati or
Cardinales to denote that they were
the first or chief over the rest, and
that all the affairs of the diocese OF
Rome were under their direction. AT
a subsequent period the priests and
deacons of other cities of Importance
assumed the title of Cardinals to dis
tinguish them from other priests and
deacons over whom they claimed
ecclesiastical supremacy, but the Pope
ordained that none but those he had
chosen should be honored with that
exalted title.
Amongst those whom the popes
thus appointed we're the seven bishops
suburbicorii, who took their titles from
places in the neighborhood OF Rome.
These bishops were called hebdomada-
rii, because they attended the Pope
for week, each in his turn. These
Cardinals took part with the Roman
clergy in tho election of the pope, who
was usually taken from their number.
THE ORDER ESTABLISHED.
About the beginning of the twelfth
century the popes, having formed a
regular court, began to bestow the
rank of Cardinal Priest or Cardinal
Deacon on many of the clergy, and to
each, whether Roman or foreign, they
gave the title of some particular church
in Rome, but without attaching any
obligatory service. AS Christianity
spread throughout the world the Car
dinals bee me large and separate
body of ecclesiastics, elected for life.
In 1859 Pop, Nicholas III limited the
right of election to the Holy See to the
College of Cardinals thus appointed.
In 1867 Pope P U.S. V forbade any
clergymen not appointed by the people
to assume the title of Cardinal, and in
Decem' er, 1855, Pope Sixtus V fixed
the numLer Of Cardinals at seventy,
viz, six Cardinal Bishops, fifty Cardi-
nal Priests and fourteen Cardinal Dea-
cons, and on this footing the Sacred
College as since been renamed,
though the number is seldom complete.
the Pope generally leaving some va
cancies to be filled on extraordinary
occasions. The membership of the
Sacred College has sometimes fallen
very much undar seventy, there being
in fact no law regulating the exact
number, and at least on one occasion
during the po4tificate OF Plus w, which
was, however, before the order Sixtus
v, when Nicholas III was chosen Pope,
there were but eight Cardinals, and
shortly before the death of Alexander
w the number had fallen to four. But
the circumstances of these periods OF
European history were the cause of SO
mahy vacancies being permitted to
exist.
THEIR EXALTED BANK.
The juris 1iction of the Cardinal
Bishops in the place in which they are
esta blished is truly episcopal, but the
Cardinals, as members OF the Sacred
College, hold higher rank than any
Bishop. For instance, the Arch bishop
of Armagh is the Pfimate OF all Ire
land, vet the late Cardinals Cullen
and McCabe were, during their time,
the highest ecclesiastical: dignitaries
in Ireland. Both Cardinals were
Archbishops Of Dublin, and, as such,
inferior to the primate, but their sell
ection as members of the Sacred Col
lege removed them from the subord-
mate to the superior position of their
new office. The creation of Cardinal
rests solely with the Pope.
If the newly created Cardinal is at
Rome he goes the same day to visit
the Pope, who puts the red cap on his
head. The red hat which Innocent
Nv. ordained that Cardinals should
wear, to show that they might expose
themselves to the shedding of their
blood and the cause of the church is
afterwards given in public consisto-
nv. The ceremonies attending the in
vestiture are exceedingly grand and
impressive. The Cardinals that are
absent when chosen have the cap sent
them by special messenger from the
Pope. The hat is given by the Pope's
own hands; and many Cardinals who
do not visit Rome die without ever
having received it.
The Pope Urban VII. in 1880 gave
TO the Cardinals the title OF Eminence
which they shared with the grand
master of the order of the Knights of
Malta aed the ecclesiastical electors of
the German and Roman empires.
The Pope often employs Cardinals as
ambassadors, and the dignitary thus
employed is styled Legate a Latere.
The chief papal Secretary of State,
the Camerlengo, or Minister of FL
nance, the Vicar of Rome and other
leading officials of the government OF
the Roman Catholic church are al
ways chosen from among the Cardl-
mails also.
The council of Cardinals which as
semble under the Presidency of the
Pope to discuss matters OF church and
state is called the Consistorium
There are public consistories which
are held in Rome on great occasions
and correspond to the levees OF other
rulers, and private and secret consist
cries. which are the privy, or cabinet